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Amanda Goes Dancing
This is a series of short stories done to get to know Amanda in a happier, more cheerful state. The two first ones turned out to be rather serious and dark and that's not all there is to her. Let's Dance Amanda surfaced. Underneath her feet the ground vibrated. The bass crushed in on her, every beat a solid wave of sound. All around her people kept dancing, but something had broken her trance and she was back in reality again. She kept moving to the music, but it wasn't the same anymore and she stopped. Perhaps it was time for a break. Amanda wiped her brow with the back of her hand, grabbed har bag from the ground and started making her way off the dance floor, to the trees at the edge of the clearing. Wherever she turned the dancers were human and she had to be alert and careful to avoid getting hit by a stray foot or swinging arm. No one here would want to hurt her, but most of them were well over a head taller than she and accidents did happen. Most anfylk kept to the sides, at the edge of the crowd. It was safer that way. Amanda knew she ought do that as well. It wouldn't do for her to show up at the office with a black eye or a bruised cheek on Monday morning. She ought to, but she didn't. She told herself she'd be careful and that she'd get out if things got too wild. She could call in sick if she got bruised too badly, or smack some make-up it on and no one would know. Deep down, she didn't care. She had to be there, in the middle of the crowd, jumping and stomping and screaming her joy in the face of the music. It's why she had come and it's what she needed. It wasn't that she had a bad life or anything – rather the opposite. She had a great job and she loved her little flat where she lived. Once in a while though, she needed to get away from all that. She needed to forget about the job. She needed to forget about profit margins and sensible business attire, about customer relations and responsibilities and about everything else that made up her day to day life. She needed release. The music and the dancing gave it to her. But, what she needed right now was a breather. Carefully she wove her way through the crowd and eventually emerged, unscathed, near the edge of the clearing. At the edge of sound Amanda stepped in among the trees and stopped. She thought about sitting down right there, but decided against it and started walking again. The night would be dark for many hours to come and she still had a lot of energy left. A couple of minutes alone with the trees would be nice and then she could get back to the dance floor and lose herself in the music again. Digging through her bag she fished up a bottle of water and took a sip, just a little – moisture on her lips and tongue. Stepping through the cool moss she could still feel the vibrations of the bass through the ground. She smiled to herself. They had a good sound system these days. Most of the people in the scene had no idea Amanda had been a major contributor to that. In fact, these days barely anyone here knew who Amanda Storvakin was, and really, that was just the way she liked it. Amanda was a sensible and respectable business woman. In her spare time she went to the gym or sat reading a glossy magazine at some cafe. She went to bars and restaurants and perhaps, once in a while, to some glittery night-club. Most certainly she did not go dancing under the stars in a dirty forest somewhere. Cuppi, on the other hand, was a raver. No one really knew her all that well, but the old-timers in the scene seemed to respect her. She didn't show up all the time, but she was a recognized face and she always had a smile for everyone she met. Cuppi was who the people in the scene knew her as. Only a select few knew her real name, but they too called her Cuppi. Forest parties were legal these days. Some of the larger ones were even sponsored by the shams. They'd come a long way, but raving was still not really socially acceptable – especially not for a woman like Amanda Storvakin. That wasn't the main reason she went by Cuppi though. Sure, it played a part, but no one here really cared for where she came from or what she did in her daily life. Being Cuppi was liberating. It was like being a superhero with a secret identity. She stripped off the restraints that held Amanda in place and became a different version of herself. She dressed like a hippie and danced all night; she hugged the trees and lay in the grass looking at the stars. A motion in the darkness ahead caught her attention and she stopped in here tracks. “Hey, who's there,” came a voice from the darkness. “Do you have a light? I've dropped something.” Warm Light “Sure,” said Amanda, “I can do light. Just a moment,” “Great, thanks. I can't find my glasses.” The voice was male, probably human, but it was hard to tell sure without looking. Amanda held out her hand and concentrated. She mumbled a few words to bring her mind on the right track and conjured a little ball of light. It burned so bright she instinctively shielded her eyes, breaking her concentration and causing the light to go out. “Wooha, easy there sister. No need to set the woods on fire.” The voice sounded shaken. “I'm sorry. I'm not very good at this. Looks like we really woke up the Tiived tonight. I'll try again.” “Heh, yeah, I guess we just saw that.” Amanda didn't reply. She needed to concentrate. The party had woken the spirit of the land and channeling the aether was a lot easier than she was used to, almost as if it was eager to get out and get used. Her palm was still warm from the heat of the light – probably a good thing it went out or she'd have burned herself or set fire to something. “Okay, shield your eyes, I'll try again.” Closing her eyes and muttering to herself Amanda focused on the conjuring. She'd been careless before. When she'd just opened up without thinking, way too much aether had come through, more than she could control. This time she went a lot slower, making sure to only let enough for a small trickle through. Satisfied the stream was safe she split it once and twisted the parts into the pattern for light. A small spark appeared in the air above her palm; barely giving off more light than a glowing ember. Carefully she let through more aether and increased the intensity of the glow. “There,” she said, “it's safe to look now. Can you find your glasses?” She didn't dare move. Weaving the aether was tricky enough at the best of times and when it was this lively it was a downright struggle. “Yes, let's see, I'll have a look.” The man was a human, like she'd guessed; young, but no kid. Amanda did not recognize him, but that wasn't uncommon these days. The scene had grown and she didn't know everyone anymore. Good thing that. She could disappear in the crowd and didn't have to take part in all the drama people stirred up all the time. “There they are.” The young man stooped down, picked up his glasses and put them on. “Thank you. I'd have been here til' morning trying to find them if you hadn't come along.” “You're very welcome, try not to lose them again. The forest is our friend, but the night is still dark. Will you be okay now?” “Yes, thank you very much I'll be okay now.” The man looked at her. “Wait, you're Cuppi, right? I've heard about you. They say you're good people. Nice to meet you. I'm Gary.” “Yeah, that's me.” She shot him a smile and then let the light fade out. “Nice to meet you too Gary. I'm gonna go walking for a bit. See you on the dance floor.” “I'll see you on the dance floor.” A Walk on the Dark Side She looked after Gary as he made his way towards the clearing and the music; a dark silhouette of a person outlined against the lights of the dance floor. Soon enough she'd be back there too, but first a little walk to clear her mind and catch her breath. The land sloped gently upwards, but she didn't get the impression it went on for long; probably a low ridge or something similar. If she could get up top and across she'd have some land between herself and the sound system. It'd be nice and quiet. Slowly, with no rush, she started up the slope. The music kept pumping behind her. The bass line chased her thoughts up among the trees and out over the forest. She nodded in time with the beat and her footsteps matched the pace. Before she knew it she was dancing up the hillside; head nodding quickly, feet moving slowly and her hands tracing arcs in the air around her. She stumbled and nearly went over on a fallen branch, but turned it into a pirouette and then a leap and another pirouette and then she bumped into a tree and fell for real. She landed on her bum and said, “Whoops!” just for the sake of it. Amanda giggled to herself and laid back on the ground staring at the sky and wiggling her toes. Stars twinkled above. The treetops swayed gently in the breeze, black contours against the deep blue sky. Moss and grass tickled her neck and feet and she closed her eyes and took in the smell of the world. Pine and fir, damp moss, her own sweat; the scents filled her nostrils. The music, now distant, mixed with the wind in the trees and the creaking of old branches. The smells and sounds sent her mind soaring and plucked images out of the depths of her mind. She saw summers of old, friends met and good times had. She saw a young man she'd known and her heart grew cold. A moment later the image was gone and she saw herself dancing on a beach a summer nights's morning many years ago. The rising sun smiled down on her and she smiled back, arms in the air and not a care in the world, happy as lark. She smiled to herself where she lay. That had been a great party, just after the crew had secured their first deal with the shams; their first fully legal, officially sanctioned party – the Victory Dance. Amanda smiled so hard her cheeks ached. She smiled with her heart and her soul. Deep within herself, within the ground she lay on, deep down in the very bedrock, the forest itself smiled with her. The Tiived was wide awake and filled with joy and it wanted her to be happy too. “Yes!” she shouted and sprang to her feet, laughing out loud, her heart bursting with joy. Jumping up and down and throwing her fists in the air she kept shouting, “yes, yes, yes. Let's do this.” Grabbing her bag Amanda set off down the hill, first walking, then running, head over heels through the darkness. There was no way the Tiived would let her fall, nothing could hurt her here. With a shout she emerged in the clearing, dropped her bag on the ground by a tree and threw herself into the crowd. Now was the time to dance.